A grandmother’s prodding led to the arrest of a suspected killer

Two alleged killers appear in Magistrate Court

Jace Jenkins, accused of a homicide on Halloween, and Wesley Holt, who allegedly shot Central High School student Jayvon Sherman earlier this month, make their first appearance before Bibb Magistrate Judge Edgeley Myers.

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Jace Jenkins, accused of a homicide on Halloween, and Wesley Holt, who allegedly shot Central High School student Jayvon Sherman earlier this month, make their first appearance before Bibb Magistrate Judge Edgeley Myers.

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Macon Regional Crimestoppers is doubling its cash reward for information leading to an arrest in any unsolved Middle Georgia homicide.

The $2,000 reward offer, announced at a Thursday news conference, comes after 25 homicides committed across the county so far this year. Ten of the cases remain unsolved.

“Someone other than the criminal knows about the crime,” said Warren Selby, chairman of Macon Regional Crimestoppers. “That’s where we’re asking for the community for help.”

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A tip from someone in the community led to the arrest of Wesley Jamison Holt, who was charged with murder Wednesday in the Oct. 19 shooting death of Jayvon Sherman.

Investigators have been to Central High School every day since the slaying, searching for leads on who might have killed the 16-year-old sophomore, Sheriff David Davis said.

“It all came down to one person having a piece of information,” Davis said. “This person was a juvenile, .... (and) we cannot interview them alone. We have a grandmother to thank for helping us break this case.

“Some of this witness’s other family members were telling him not to say anything, ... but the grandmother, who comes from a generation of being responsible, said, ‘No, you’re going to tell them what you know.’ ”

Holt was arrested on Halloween on a charge of violating probation. He was not charged with murder until Wednesday.

Sherman was found shot in the chest early in the morning near the front of the old Winship Elementary School on Beech Avenue, just a few blocks from Central, in what police think was an attempted armed robbery.

Court records show that Holt, his alleged killer, was charged with burglarizing a house on Cherry Avenue in December 2015. The house is just a few blocks from where Sherman was killed.

Bibb County Sheriff David Davis tells how investigators cracked the case of the death of Central High School student Jayvon Sherman, who was shot as he was on his way to school.

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Holt also was charged with obstruction for running away when a sheriff's deputy told him to stop, according to Bibb County Superior Court records. He was sentenced as a first offender in October 2016.

Then, in December 2016, Holt was arrested in another burglary, this one on Britt Avenue, off Napier Avenue. He was in jail until July, in part because he hadn't made any of the fine and fee payments stipulated under his first-offender status.

Holt, of Fort Hill Street, was denied bond during a first appearance hearing in Bibb County Magistrate Court on Thursday. A commitment hearing, during which police will explain the reasons for his arrest, is set for Nov. 16.

Halloween homicides

The 21-year-old from Gray is charged with the Halloween shooting death of Stewart Leslie Gordon Jr. at 1476 Burton Ave. The sheriff said investigators found drug paraphernalia at the scene, but the motive for the killing is unclear.

Gordon, 38, has a criminal history in Jones County, but Jenkins does not, officials there said. Jenkins requested a commitment hearing, which is set for Nov. 16.

Gordon was one of three people shot to death in the county on Halloween.